PureInsight | July 22, 2002
I."Through Hardships the Body of Gold Is Tempered" (From 'The Difficult Path to Godhood')
Upon hearing the constantly changing news from Iceland, on the morning of June 22, 2002, six of us from the Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa provinces of Canada began our journey of Fa-rectification with one determined mind and traveled to Iceland from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. At that time, we all said that no matter what happened, we would keep in mind what Master said, "Whatever Buddhas, or Taoists, or immortals, or demons should not be able to move your heart. By being this way, success is bound to be hopeful. " (From "Demonic Interference from One's Own Mind" in Lecture Six of Zhuan Falun). With Teacher's words in mind, the ever-changing situation in Iceland failed to move the heart of any of us. At the same time, we began to prepare ourselves with forth-coming difficulties. No matter what happens, we should deal with it with strong righteous thoughts.
At 8:30 in the morning, the plane smoothly landed at the capital of Denmark at the Copenhagen Airport where the six of us would transfer to our flight to Iceland. However, something unimaginable happened. About half an hour before we landed, Icelandair had received a written notice from the Iceland Judicial Department that prohibited Falun Gong practitioners from entering Iceland between June 12 and 16 during Jiang's visit in Iceland. Therefore, SAS refused to issue us transfer tickets to Iceland. We immediately started to clarify the truth to the SAS airline staff. Mr. Per Brondt, Senior Supervisor, Passenger Service of SAS airline (who had an alliance with Icelandair) said, "It was an unethical decision. I agree with you but I can't do anything. You may try to contact the Icelandic Embassy in Copenhagen." Then he gave us the telephone number of the Iceland Embassy in Copenhagen. We were all shocked by this sudden tribulation.
Prior to the journey to Iceland, we often talked about Teacher's article, "The Difficult Path to Godhood." Indeed, we had been facing the unprecedented persecution and slander in China. We had overcome numerous difficulties to travel this far. Many practitioners had to manage to get money for this trip. One practitioner from Montreal had only $400 dollars at hand and finally borrowed enough money for the trip one day before departure. Another practitioner had lost more than $1,000 dollars due to several changes of his ticket and had difficulty in taking time off from work.
How could we endure the persecution by the old forces in being denied access to the Fa-rectification activities in Iceland? We quickly realized that we must have loopholes in our cultivation which prevented us from entering Iceland earlier. We felt deeply ashamed of ourselves not being able to abide by Master's compassionate teaching. No word could express our sorrow inside. One practitioner couldn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks. At the next set time for sending forth righteous thoughts, it was very difficult for us to concentrate, let alone send out pure righteous thoughts.
We began to share our experience on this tribulation for the first time. Everyone agreed that we must first solve the problems in our cultivation from the standpoint of the Fa. When the problems in our cultivations were resolved, the problem of entering Iceland would also be resolved. I shared my problem of taking "slow and leisurely steps." (From 'The Difficult Path to Godhood') In addition, when I was rejected from entering Latvia, I didn't pay enough attention to the black list. When I bought my plane ticket together with everyone else, it caught the attention of the evil. This dragged other practitioners down with me. I admitted, "A practitioner advised me to leave early and change my departure date to the 11th but I didn't listen." No one complained. Everyone concentrated on looking inward. Everyone managed to locate the loopholes in their cultivations. In addition, we decided that we should never accept the unreasonable persecution from the old forces despite the loopholes in our cultivation. If we managed to meet the even higher requirement of the Fa and kept strong righteous thoughts, we would still have chances to pass the test.
Everyone realized that while we had placed more on studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts at Helsinki, here we must do all three things well - studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, and clarifying the truth. We must do all of these three things well because the Fa now had higher requirements for us. The six of us immediately divided the work. Some would try to clarify the truth to the media, the government and the airline. A practitioner would search for other possible ways to travel to Iceland, such as flying or driving to a place close to Iceland, and from there taking a ferry, or taking another flight to Iceland. Other practitioners, who couldn't speak English, would assist by sending forth righteous thoughts. After our initial research, we decided that the plan of taking a boat to Iceland would not work for us.
During our efforts, I somehow felt that we had already relieved ourselves from the hope of entering Iceland. Such mentality was far from the Fa required of us. Suddenly I remembered Master's words, "Amidst tribulations, it is very difficult for a practitioner to see the cause of a matter, but it's not that it is impossible. When he calms down and evaluates everything according to Dafa, he will be able to see the nature of the matter." (From 'Rationality') Quickly I restored my calmness, and I was able to see the higher requirement of the Fa.
I immediately shared my fresh understanding on the Fa with everyone:
1. We mustn't forget for a moment the mission of this trip and the Fa required of us. We are here to eradicate the head of evil and to save sentient beings. Therefore, we mustn't allow a little tribulation to affect the purity of our righteous thoughts. Otherwise, the loss would outweigh the gain and would cause an even bigger loss to the Fa.2. In terms of actual distance, Copenhagen, Denmark is closer to Iceland than Helsinki, Finland. Therefore, we are already conforming to the principle of sending forth righteous thoughts at closer proximity to effectively eradicate the evil. On the other hand, it is critical for us to maintain purity in our righteous thoughts because the effect of pure and determined righteous thoughts will not be discounted by the distance.
3. We must remember Master's teaching that at all times, "…don't wait, don't rely on others..." (From 'To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference') We should firmly believe in abilities we have acquired from our cultivation, as well as the power of the righteous thoughts that we will be able to solve the problem immediately. Even if we encounter tribulations, we must put down the thought of ourselves to the greatest extent. It is very critical for the fellow practitioners in Iceland to concentrate on the Fa-rectification activities there. We mustn't distract them because of our difficulties here. Otherwise we will interfere with Icelandic practitioners with their Fa-rectification activities and cause bigger losses to the Fa.
4. We are not in a position of disadvantage. On the contrary, we are in a favorable position to clarify the truth to the people of the world. With the difficulties we face, we will be able to attract people's attention more easily to clarify the truth.
Everyone quickly reached a consensus. We will clarify the truth thoroughly in Copenhagen and break through the pass with righteous thoughts. Meanwhile, we would wait at the airport for the next flight. One practitioner added, "I remember an understanding of some practitioners, 'Whenever a problem occurs, it means that that is precisely the place where we need to clarify the truth and resolve the problem.'"
Next, I shared my latest understanding on sending forth righteous thoughts with everyone. I said, "When we first arrived here, I felt great difficulty when sending forth righteous thoughts and couldn't help asking for Master's help. Now, I suddenly have a different understanding. Master had endured many tribulations for us already. I should not bring any more of my tribulations to Master. Otherwise, it would be as if Master has cultivated for me. We should have faith in our own abilities."
We decided to try to break through the pass at the boarding gate once again. However at the boarding gate, we were once again stopped by Mr. Bjarni Sigtryggsson, Counselor of the Iceland Embassy in Copenhagen. Mr. Sigtryggsson showed us the order of prohibition from Iceland's Judicial Department, which read, "From June 12 to June 16, Falun Gong practitioners are prohibited from entering Keflavik Airport in Iceland." There was another letter from the Judicial Department to Icelandair with similar content. After I clarified the truth to him, he said, "I completely agree with you." But he regretted that he could not help us.
The six of us further divided up the work. A practitioner immediately went to the information desk, and found the contact information of the Canadian Embassy in Copenhagen, the well-known local media in Denmark, and the international media. Although we couldn't reach AFP and Reuters, we were able to quickly reach Mr. Jan Olsen, a Copenhagen based AP reporter. This incident struck Mr. Olsen. He immediately felt concerned for the situation because Iceland was the first country in the world that irrationally banned Falun Gong practitioners entering Iceland from outside its land. I immediately accepted the interview with Mr. Olsen by phone at the airport. During the interview I urged Jiang Zemin's regime to stop defaming Falun Gong. I also requested the Icelandic government to correct its mistake right away. Meanwhile, I expressed our determination to wait for the next flight at the airport. A few hours later, AP reported the story of us being unreasonably banned to board the plane to Iceland, with an eye-catching headline, "Falun Gong members barred from boarding Iceland-bound plane ahead of Chinese president's visit." (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/6/12/23051.html)
In addition, Mr. Olsen suggested that we contact local practitioners in Copenhagen. They may already have established contacts with local media. They were in a more favorable position to expose the scandal to the general public. Later on, Mr. Olsen had another video interview with us at the airport with a Copenhagen photojournalist, Kristian Linnemann, as the cameraman.
We realized that we needed a statement if we wanted to clarify the truth on a larger scale to the media, the government, and people all over the world. Very quickly we drafted the statement titled, "Falun Gong Urged the Judicial Department of Iceland to Lift Ban on Falun Gong --- A Plea from Canadian Practitioners at Copenhagen Airport." We e-mailed the draft to Canadian practitioners for polishing. A western practitioner e-mailed us back with the polished statement in no time.
While we were waiting for the polished statement, we tried to board the plane several times. Each time we were rejected.
At 5:30 p.m., the journalist, Mr. Jacob Andersen, and a photographer, Mr. Mogens Flint, from B.T. newspaper in Copenhagen, came to the airport to have an interview with us. They both expressed their sympathy and respect toward us after they learned our story and decision to wait for the next flight at the airport. Next day, B.T. newspaper reported our appeal from the airport with photo illustration and a title of "Falun Gong Practitioners Denied Entry to Iceland Because of Presidential Visit." (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/6/26/23492.html)
After the interview, I remembered we had set up the meeting with Denmark practitioners so I went to meet them at the airport entrance around 6:00 p.m. I saw two of them being interviewed by a TV network because all of their tickets were cancelled by Icelandair.
I helped carry another practitioner's luggage and was able to pass the check-in counter as well as the safety check area. In the short conversation with the practitioner, I said, "The persecution against the innocent practitioners was arranged by the old forces. This is a critical moment to test our faith in Master and Dafa. You must have a strong faith that you will be able to leave successfully. If we keep our righteous thoughts strong, even the computer at the check-in counter will not work properly. We are absolutely able to break through the interference. How can the human stop a god from his trip?" I felt so pleased to have adamantine faith in the fellow practitioner. Meanwhile, I kept sending righteous thoughts all the time to assist the fellow practitioner to go through the pass.
After the flight of Icelandair took off at 7:00 p.m., I called the practitioner on his cellular phone several times but the call did not go through. At that moment I believed that this Danish practitioner must have entered Iceland safely. At this moment in my heart, I really felt the power of righteous thoughts and felt very happy. Later I was able to confirm that the Danish practitioner indeed went through the pass successfully and entered Iceland safely with his strong righteous thoughts!
After I saw this Danish practitioner off, another small test came up. When I passed by another SAS airline's ticket counter, I asked, "Do you have the ticket to Iceland leaving tomorrow?" After a quick search, the agent replied, "There is only a seat in business class in the flight leaving at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, which would cost $1,300 European Dollars." He seemed to have read my mind, and added, "I can issue you a ticket with the seat right now. If you decide not to go or cannot make the trip, we will give you 100% refund." I was persuaded and asked him to reserve this seat for me. I would have to think over buying the ticket.
I immediately felt ashamed for my selfish idea. The six of us came all the way and made it this far together. We are one body. But when we encountered a tribulation, I thought about myself first. How much have I fallen below the requirements of the Fa! Three practitioners do not have a good command in English. I, on the other hand, had experience in clarifying the truth to government and media. I am most capable of "fighting" alone and therefore I should be the last one to leave, I confessed in front of other practitioners. Despite everyone suggested me leaving first, I said, "I have made up my mind. I will be the last one to leave Copenhagen in our group."
After the tests for another whole day, our mind became as solid as diamond. We persisted in studying the Fa. Those three practitioners who spoke little English, increased their frequency of sending forth righteous thoughts on a set time schedule.
At around 8:00 pm, we gathered together again and discussed what we should do the next day. Some practitioners suggested we should go meet with the Consul of the Icelandic Embassy in Copenhagen the next day. I immediately said, "We cannot wait till tomorrow. We will be on the flight tomorrow for Iceland." I also suggested, "We should meet with the Icelandic Consul immediately, the gentleman we met this morning, and we should clarify the truth to him." Everyone agreed to this suggestion at once. Some of us suggested that we go see him by taxi. But I insisted, "Dafa should have its own dignity." Then I remembered Master's words, "Forbearance (ren) is not cowardice, much less is it resigning oneself to adversity. Dafa disciples' Forbearance is noble; is the manifestation of beings' magnificent, indestructible, and diamond-like solidity; is tolerance for the purpose of upholding the truth." (From 'Beyond the Limits of Forbearance') I added, "We came all the way here from afar, and he is close to the airport. We should invite him to come meet with us."
Next I called Mr. Bjarni Sigtryggsson, the Consul of the Icelandic Embassy in Copenhagen and educated him on Falun Gong, the acceleration of persecution against Falun Gong in China, and the reason why we wanted to make the trip to Iceland. I also told him that none of the difficulties we have encountered could alter our determination. The Judicial Department of Iceland made a wrong decision to ban Falun Gong members from entering Iceland. He seemed to be a little touched when he learned that we were determined to stay at the airport tonight and that we would continue to stay here until we boarded the next flight of Icelandair to Iceland. Mr. Sigtryggsson said, "I respect your decision." But then he stressed again and again "This decision made by Icelandic government is a most unfortunate one." Then he expressed the conflict in his mind, "But I'm a civil servant, I must obey the order!" I encouraged him, "You are capable of sharing with the Judicial Department what the Falun Gong practitioners you met were really like, and that you disagreed with the decision of the Judicial Department." I could sense the conflicts in his mind, and I added, "If Hitler ordered to kill the innocent people, do you think his subjects should obey his order, or violate the order? Right now the Judicial Department made a wrong decision, a decision which contradicted the will of Icelandic people. This is a serious test of everyone's moral values. Everybody is in this test that required a moral answer." He kept silent for awhile. Then, he repeated once more, "This decision made by Icelandic government is the most unfortunate one." I continued, "Have you ever watched the movie, 'Schindler's List'? You are now in a position to do a greater job than Schindler because the decision you are able to make will determine your and the Icelandic people's future." Mr. Sigtryggsson repeated again, "This decision made by the Icelandic government is a most unfortunate one. Are you suggesting that I should …"
I saw the Buddha-nature in him. Everyone has Buddha nature. I also began to see the power of the truth-clarification having an effect on him. I saw the moment was right for me to invite him over to meet us at the airport and have a direct conversation, so I said, "It's very difficult for us to come here from afar. We sincerely would like to invite you to come here and talk to us. There were a lot of touching stories that had happened during our trip that we would like to share." He paused for a very long time. Finally he said, "I cannot go to see you tonight." I could sense that he was very tempted to meet us, so I said, "How about we take a taxi to go meet you at your home. It will take you only half an hour." Because he didn't answer, I said, "Or you may simply pick a place. We can go meet you there."
Then he said in a very friendly voice, "Let's end the conversation here tonight. Let me sleep on it. I hope you don't call me again tonight." Because it was almost the time to send forth righteous thoughts, I said, "Please reconsider meeting us tonight. It's not that I am trying not to be polite. It is because this is an important issue to you. I will call you back around 10:10 p.m."
I did call him back at 10:10 pm. When I was on the phone, a practitioner sent forth righteous thoughts next to me to help bring the Buddha nature in Mr. Sigtryggsson. When I felt his Buddha-nature and Demon-nature were having a severe fight in his mind, I decided to respect his decision to sleep on the issue. I hung up the phone.
Night had fallen. This was my third time staying at the airport overnight in this trip. Everyone teased me about it. They said I was a professional in finding free and spacious accommodations! Over the night we took turns sending forth righteous thoughts.
A practitioner suggested earlier we should imbed the power of the Fa in our statement. In other words, we shouldn't focus on decorating the statements with flowery language. Instead we should focus on clarifying the truth. For example, we should make no mistake in clearly describing why we would travel thousands of miles to Iceland. Therefore we revised our statement. We sent the revised statement to the officers of Icelandic government in an e-mail. We also considered sending the statement to more media the next day.
I was sleepless almost the whole night. At 7 o'clock in the early morning, I decided to go to the SAS Airline again to clarify the truth. With our statement and the Associated Press's report, I came to the ticket counter of SAS Airline. I explained we were unreasonably refused permission to board the plane yesterday and asked to be on the earliest flight to Iceland today. The SAS staff felt sympathetic toward our situation. But the remarks in the computer specifically asked him not to board us. At that moment, Mr. Per Brondt, Senior Supervisor at Passenger Service of SAS airline was there. I walked over to him immediately. I told him that we have stayed one night in the airport, and handed ours statement and AP's report to him. Mr. Brondt asked, "May I keep these?" I said, "This is the only copy I have. Would you mind making another copy?" Mr. Brondt immediately made another copy, and returned the original to me. He then said, "Please wait here for a moment. I need to have a discussion with my staff."
The staff from the ticket counter and Mr. Brondt then entered the office. After about 5 minutes, the staff came back to me and said, "Come back here at 8:15 to collect your plane tickets." I went back and told everybody this encouraging news. These kind-hearted people bravely resisted the evil's unreasonable persecution against Dafa. They have displayed the dauntless pursuit to the truth and bravery under the pressure from the Justice Department of Iceland to deny Falun Gong practitioners entering Iceland. We immediately achieved a consensus, "We mustn't be attached to zealotry. If we continue to send forth righteous thoughts, all six of us will board this flight!"
At 8:15 a.m., we got 6 standby tickets from SAS Airline. At 10:00 a.m., we arrived at the boarding gate and ran into Mr. Bjarni Sigtryggsson, Counselor of the Iceland Embassy in Copenhagen. Mr. Sigtryggsson held us back. We showed him our standby tickets. He said, "Wait a moment. I have to make a phone call to Iceland government." We could tell from his tone and attitude that he was contemplating on how to tell the Icelandic government that he was going to let us board the plane.
The Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked, "Where all have they been?" "Helsinki, Finland and Copenhagen, Denmark," we replied.
The last question appeared to be from the evil. They asked, "Are you Falun Gong members?" I immediately replied, "Falun Gong does not have a membership." In hindsight, I felt I could have given a wiser and more composed answer.
Mr. Sigtryggsson was very pleased with our answers, and signaled us to leave! In fact, he knew very well by now the truth about Falun Gong.
At 10:40 a.m., two practitioners from Toronto first got seats and boarded the Icelandair plane to Iceland with dignity. Then, the Icelandair staff announced, "There is no more seats left on this plane." The four of us then pushed the baggage carts and began to leave the boarding gate. Then a most touching scene happened. The Icelandic Counselor, Mr. Bjarni Sigtryggsson, suddenly ran out of the waiting room. He caught up with us and said, "Wait a moment! There might be extra seats." His sincere words, anxious anticipation, and the confident tone really touched us.
I suddenly realized that the announcement a moment ago was actually a test on our faith in the Fa and righteous thoughts. We just failed the test. At the last minute, there were two seats unclaimed. I saw nobody else come to board the plane. I said firmly, "The seats should be ours now!" Just when they were about to close the gate, two people came running toward the boarding gate and boarded the plane. In hindsight, I realized that everything in the human society is an illusion but the Fa. If we had diamond hard faith in the Fa, and never doubted that we would be on that flight when we heard the announcement, we would be able to remove all illusions with our ability.
The Icelandic Counselor became very involved in our issue. He encouraged us with confidence, "There are four tickets available for the 2 o'clock flight. Why don't you go and exchange your tickets for the 2 o'clock flight?"
The four of went to get the tickets. A practitioner from Toronto and I ran into the two Danish practitioners at the ticket counter. We insisted that the Danish practitioners should have the tickets first in order to leave earlier. But there were no tickets available. They only got two standby tickets. We also got two standby tickets.
When we just left the ticket counter, another touching episode took place. The Icelandic Counselor caught up with us and handed me his cellular phone. "The Danish TV2 would like to interview you," he explained. The Danish television station TV2 had been trying to reach us and interview us for our story. Finally they reached me through Mr. Sigtryggsson. I took down the reporter's telephone number, and promised to call him back soon to schedule the meeting.
Then a miracle happened. Two practitioners from Montreal who were getting tickets at another ticket counter managed to get two plane tickets to Iceland. The Icelandic Counselor saw this and ran over to us, "Quick! There are still tickets available!" It was true. The two of us got another two tickets! We decided that we needed to find the Danish practitioners and inform them about the tickets. So we asked if there were any more tickets left. The airline staff replied, "There are no more tickets left. Those were the only four tickets we had."
We realized that that was a small test for the Danish practitioners and us. Now we understood Master's words "You are not really asked to lose anything materially. The key is whether you can abandon that attachment."(From "Loss and Gain" in Chapter Four of Zhuan Falun.)
When we watched the Icelandic Counselor leave, a practitioner from Toronto said, "I was almost moved to tears! I will definitely call him after I get back." Indeed, we felt so moved by and happy for a sentient being, who persevered in justice and resisted the evil with wisdom in the rough environment under huge pressure during Fa rectification period! His attitude toward Dafa in the Fa-rectification period would bring him a wonderful future. It was just like what Master said, "Everyone's behavior, good or bad, fully reflects the outcome he will obtain." (From the article, 'Towards Consummation')
After the Icelandic Ministry of Justice announced the ban on Falun Gong to the Iceland airline on June 11, the righteous thoughts and righteous actions of the practitioners remained unchanged and indestructible like a diamond. We clarified the truth with compassion and touched the hearts of the Icelandic Counselor in Copenhagen as well as the staffs of the airline company. Under a difficult situation when the ban was effective, their pursuit for justice in Copenhagen opened a path for Falun Gong practitioners to go to Iceland for a peaceful appeal. The Falun Gong practitioners, as well as the high moral values that they manifested under the mighty pressure, have won the respect of the whole world.
It is known that later the overwhelming majority of Falun Gong practitioners who transited their flight in Copenhagen entered Iceland smoothly after June 13.
I suddenly realized that Dafa has its dignity. When we clarified the truth in the adversity, what we need was more than sympathy. We should display the mighty and dignity of Dafa, and win the respect for Dafa from the sentient being! Just like Master said, "All being will respect the saving grace of Dafa ' and ' The world's sentient beings will [strive to] repay the saving grace of Dafa and Dafa's disciples." (From 'The Blessings of Dafa')
The four of us suddenly realized that the reason why it was arranged for us to leave after 2 o'clock was to have enough time for the television interview. Everybody immediately reminded me of calming down to prepare for the interview. At noon, the reporter and the photographer from the Danish TV2 interviewed me. They extremely admired us for what we had gone through. One reporter asked, "Jiang Zemin will visit Denmark in September. Do you think Denmark will also forbid Falun Gong to enter the country?" (A correction from the author: It was a mistake from the journalist. It is another top Chinese leader that will be visiting Demark.)
I replied, "I think any democratic country which truly understands Falun Gong will take it as a great honor to receive Falun Gong practitioners. Denmark is a highly moral country which was manifested when the country collaborated with the USA to condemn the Chinese human rights issue. Denmark will not make the same mistake as Iceland. The ban from the Icelandic government was a result of evil slander from Jiang Zemin's regime. It has violated the wish of the Icelandic people. If they truly understood Falun Gong, I believe they would correct the mistake."
The Reporter asked, "If Jiang Zemin comes to Denmark, will you come too?"
I replied, "Nowadays more and more people in China and the rest of the world began to know the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution. By September the persecution against Falun Gong in China might be over. By September Jiang Zemin would very likely be treated as a criminal and would not be able to make the trip."
The reporter smiled and asked, "Well, if he did come, would you come then?"
I replied, "If the persecution should continue in September, if he could come to Denmark, I certainly would come to Denmark for a peaceful appeal."
With the heartfelt blessing for a nice journey from the reporters, we went to the boarding gate after the interview.
In order to enter Iceland without further incident and to protect the precious passage to Iceland via Copenhagen, I decided not to inform other media of our success in boarding the plane.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the four of us boarded the flight of Icelandair leaving for Iceland! The Icelandic Counselor, Mr. Bjarni Sigtryggsson, also came to the boarding gate as if to say goodbye to us. Our practitioners smiled to him in return. It was then that we realized that his smile was so simple, sincere, and touching!
*** ***
In retrospect, from our experience in Copenhagen of clarifying the truth in adversity and going through a pass with righteous thoughts, we thought we had a deeper understanding of Master's words, "Through hardships the body of gold is tempered." (From 'The Difficult Path to Godhood')
I thought I'd summarize our experience in Copenhagen with a Master's poem:
Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions
"A Great Enlightened Being does not fear hardship
Having forged an adamantine will
And with no attachment to living or dying
He walks his path of Fa-rectification openly and nobly."
II."He Walks His Path of Fa-Rectification Openly and Nobly"
At around 3:30 pm, June 13, Iceland Air slowly landed at Keflavik International Airport in Iceland. When we got the plane tickets to Iceland at Copenhagen, we had reached an agreement, "Before we pass through customs in Iceland, we mustn't form any zealotry and we mustn't forget for one second to send forth righteous thoughts." Meanwhile, we broke up our troop into scattered groups so as to avoid annihilation in one attack. There are two practitioners who do not have a good command of English, therefore, four of us broke into two groups.
The first group passed Iceland customs successfully.
As for the second group, the immigration officer at customs took a long serious look at our passports and sent us to the policemen. We said to each other simultaneously, "We must send strong forth righteous thoughts." When we arrived at the police office, the policeman seemed somewhat puzzled, not knowing how to ask us, perhaps due to our sending forth righteous thoughts. He made a photocopy of the page with our photos in our passports. Then he asked how long we planned to stay in Iceland. Without asking us anything about Falun Gong, he motioned us to leave.
After we left the airport, four of us immediately joined the two people who left for Reykjavik in the earlier flight. We began our journey of Fa-rectification in Iceland.
The two Canadian practitioners on the morning flight were able to reach other practitioners who arrived in Reykjavik earlier, and told us, "The head of the evil will be arriving at Keflavik International Airport around 4 p.m. today. The six of you are the last group of practitioners coming to Iceland!" It was then I realized how perfect Master's arrangements were. My deepest thanks to the boundless compassion of Master Li.
Speaking of arrangements, I remembered Master's words. "Many things are the arrangements of the old forces. In addition, the arrangements were made very specifically, while they manifest in a very complicated manner." (From The North American Lecture Tour.) When I shared my thoughts with a fellow practitioner on the arrangements by the old forces, it struck me that there was a striking similarity in our understanding. We both feel that the old forces are capable of arranging everything, but they are never capable of arranging the Fa! It follows that even if it was the old forces that had arranged the six of us to come to Iceland, we will be completely overcoming their arrangements when we completely abide by the Fa! Now Master's words have a fresh meaning to me: "As a practitioner, your course of life can be altered." (From "The Supernormal Ability of Precognition and Retrocognition" in Chapter Two of Zhuan Falun.)
The six of us quickly found a spot for sending forth righteous thoughts near a boarding gate at the airport where we would be close to where Jiang Zemin was expected to appear. There were many "special agents" [from China] coming back and forth at the boarding gate yet we felt very much at ease. We sat there sending forth righteous thoughts quietly.
A fellow practitioner and I walked out of the ticket counter trying to find an outdoor spot closer to where Jiang Zemin would be. Then a police car started to move toward our direction. The fellow practitioner saw this and alarmed me, "Here comes a police car." Then he began to walk back to the boarding gate. But I chose to walk directly toward the police car instead. The police took off upon seeing my composed manner.
Suddenly I thought I realized the meaning of "He walks his path of Fa-rectification openly and nobly." (From 'Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions') Indeed, there is no other journey as righteous, unselfish, upright, and open as our journey to Iceland for it is an utmost righteous and compassionate action toward the sentient beings in the cosmos to "eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts, and save all beings" (From 'Dafa is Indestructible')
Then I notice the national flags of Iceland and China were being raised on the poles. Beneath the poles there were many policemen as well as some amateur journalists with their cameras. I immediately went to take my camera and walked directly toward the policemen with a composed manner. The policemen immediately gave way to me [thinking that I was, too, a journalist]. I ended up being right underneath the flags which was the closest spot to the head of the evil where I would be sending forth righteous thoughts.
Around 4:15 p.m. local time, the band began to play the national anthems of Iceland and China. It was a hint that Jiang Zemin's plane was about to land. Approximately 100 yards from the plane the six of us kept sending forth the strongest righteous thoughts: "The Fa rectifies the cosmos, the Evil is completely eliminated."
That night an Icelander, Mr. Janhan, arranged our accommodations. In fact, Mr. Janhan has already arranged accommodations for tens of Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Janhan touched us deeply with his enthusiasm. He has gone through a lot of efforts in order to arrange our accommodations [due to the popular demands for hotels in Iceland's tourism season.] Mr. Janhan said, "At first I didn't know what Falun Gong was. After the Iceland government banned Falun Gong members from entering Iceland, everyone in Iceland got to know Falun Gong. The whole nation supports Falun Gong. Iceland government made a crazy decision to ban Falun Gong practitioners from Iceland." He added, "I heard that the Chinese Embassy wrote each and every Chinese resident in Iceland demanding them to welcome Jiang Zemin. The Chinese Embassy will pay for all expenses if they do as told. Any Chinese resident who refuses to go to welcome Jiang Zemin will face consequences when they visit China." We told him that Jiang Zemin has been vacationing all around the world making a political show [before his retirement.] He also learned about the obstacles we have encountered in Denmark and the question that the Denmark journalist raised, "Will Denmark ban Falun Gong practitioners from entering the country?" He responded, "You could have given a better answer. You could have said, 'Denmark should ban Jiang Zemin, not Falun Gong practitioners.'" We all laughed when we found righteousness in his reply.
On the next day, June 14, we went to the front of the office of Iceland President where Falun Gong practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts.
In the afternoon, there was a scheduled parade protesting against the government's decision to ban Falun Gong practitioners. One thousand people were expected to be at the parade but 3,000 Icelanders actually came. The Icelandic people displayed an overwhelming support toward Falun Gong, as well as disapproval against a wrongful decision of a government. Icelandic government banned Falun Gong practitioners from entering Iceland for the reason that Iceland did not have enough police force to supervise several hundred protesters. Now there were 3,000 Icelandic people protesting in a parade without creating any problems for the police. Falun Gong practitioners in the parade were even more peaceful and orderly. The Icelandic government's reason for banning Falun Gong practitioners naturally fell apart.
By the way, I had a better understanding of Teacher's words: "For where there is Evil there is dark, dense haze" (From 'Cleaning Out') While I was in Iceland, I needed not look elsewhere but the sky to tell where Jiang Zemin was. Wherever he was there were dark, dense clouds. The dark, dense clouds provided very accurate indication of his whereabouts.
The weather was most beautiful prior to Jiang's arrival. As soon as Jiang arrived in Iceland in the late afternoon of June 14, the sky of Reykjavik was covered with dark, dense clouds. In the evening it even rained.
In the afternoon of June 14, I had known that Jiang was going to dine at Perlan, a very famous restaurant in Reykjavik. I decided to go to Perlan to send forth righteous thoughts and appeal peacefully. Tens of Falun Gong practitioners joined me. When we got there, the police had already blocked all major entrances of Perlan. At first, the air was tense between the police and Falun Gong practitioners. But quickly the police softened when they saw the peacefulness in the Falun Gong practitioners' protest, and their cooperative manner. At the beginning of the banquet, tens of policemen stood close to Falun Gong practitioners. By the end of the banquet, there were only one or two policemen left due to the order in our appeal.
In that evening the peaceful and orderly manner of Falun Gong practitioners began to impress the Icelandic people and change their heart. The slanderous rumors against Falun Gong that Jiang Zemin spread fell apart right away.
Many Icelandic people joined us that night at Perlan after they learned Jiang Zemin's banquet place. They wore a black stripe over their mouth to symbol the restriction of freedom in speech and religion. A practitioner commented, "These people are so creative." Some Icelandic people raised a sign that said, "Please honk to show your support." The Icelandic people were fired with righteous spirits! As though they wanted to help the victims of injustice, the Icelandic people were furious about the ban posed by the government. They ignored the warnings of the police and tried to stop and chase Jiang Zemin's car. Their enthusiasm caused them some troubles that night.
The next day, June 15, the six of us, as well as several other fellow practitioners, decided to rent a car and drove to Geysir, a famous natural spa 100 miles east of Reykjavik. What a coincidence. When we were half way there we found that the police had blocked a section of the road. We immediately knew this meant Jiang Zemin might also be traveling toward Geysir. We went to Geysir according to our original plan.
The moment Jiang Zemin arrived at Geysir, black water poured from the natural spa, and the sky was covered with dark, dense clouds. The local residents told us that it was very rare to see black spring. Apparently the black spring was to greet the unwelcome guest. Once again we witnessed the truth in Teacher's words: "For where there is Evil there is dark, dense haze" (From 'Cleaning Out') Then the police began to drive people out of the place, and closed the front gate of Geysir where there were the most people. They were hired cheerleaders and Falun Gong practitioners.
All of sudden I found that Jiang Zemin's cars would not dare to enter from the front gate. Instead they would enter Geysir from a side road 100 yards from the front gate. I noticed that there was no Falun Gong practitioner at the side road and that was the only other way into Geysir.
So I took my camera and walked in that direction.
On the side road there stood a policeman. Ten yards away from the policeman stood a Falun Gong practitioner who was sending forth righteous thoughts. With strong righteous thoughts I walked toward the policeman in a friendly and composed manner. The policeman seemed to notice my open and composed behavior. He checked me out from head to toe and did not object when I stood next to him. I ended up blocking the entrance for Jiang Zemin's cars.
Several minutes later Jiang's cars came with the escorts of the police toward my direction. Although there was a small banner inside my pocket that said, "Falun Dafa --- Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance," I decided not to use it. Instead, I raised both of my arms to practice the second standing exercise, holding the wheel in front of the head." I silently chanted most powerful verses in the cosmos: "The Fa rectifies the cosmos, the Evil is completely eliminated" and "The Fa rectifies heaven and earth, immediate retribution in this lifetime."
Jiang Zemin, President of Iceland, and the whole team of cars came towards me from less than 4 yards away. Jiang Zemin's car with the Chinese national flag could not avoid my appeal and powerful righteous thoughts! Suddenly I felt as if I were a god that was as tall as the heavens and incomparably noble, with an enormous body, roaring the heavenly rage toward the cosmos: "eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts, save all beings." (From <'Dafa is Indestructible')
Teacher said, "All sentient beings are closely watching everything we're doing. There are eyes everywhere in this cosmos, and both the beings that have been rectified and the beings that haven't been are watching. The beings in the new cosmos are eagerly longing for the ultimate conclusion, while the beings in the old cosmos are longing to be saved." (From 'Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston') The sentient beings in the cosmos have been longing for Fa-rectification and so are the gods. Therefore, Fa-rectification is the result of a heavenly wish. There is nothing more compassionate than Fa-rectification. At the same time, I thought I felt the meaning of "Xin Ci Yi Meng" (Compassionate mind and Aggressive Intent.)
Afterwards I decided that my righteous thoughts weren't pure and adamantine enough. If I had sent a thought, "Freeze", then we could have ended the unprecedented persecution against the universal principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and began our efforts to create a peaceful environment to save the countless sentient beings.
June 16, 2002, thirteen Falun Gong practitioners, including myself, left for the airport at six a.m. The police stopped us when we were about one to two miles from the airport. When the police checked several plane tickets for the 7:40 a.m. flight, they let us pass even though others wouldn't leave till 8 p.m.
After we arrived at the airport, we quickly found the closest spot to where Jiang Zemin would be and began to send forth righteous thoughts silently.
One thing worth mentioning was that our return plane tickets had been cancelled by Icelandic Air several days beforehand. When the travel agency at the airport learned our story, he was very sympathetic toward us and restored our tickets right away. The travel agent said with enthusiasm, "The Icelandic government made a foolish decision, completely against the wishes of the Icelandic people. The Icelandic people welcome your visit and your future visit."
For the entire morning, the sky above the airport was covered with dark clouds. At first, we silently sent forth righteous thoughts inside the airport. After a while, we walked out of the airport, and continued to send forth righteous thoughts next to the police on the lawn.
At around 10 am when Jiang Zemin's airplane had just taken off, a practitioner yelled out, "Look! The sun reappeared in the sky!" Indeed, the radiance of the sun broke through the clouds that had been hovering the sky of Iceland throughout Jiang Zemin's visit.
We overcame obstacles after obstacles. We endured numerous tribulations. We revealed poisonous deceits. We eliminated evils at all levels. We saved countless sentient beings. The compassion of Teacher and Dafa practitioners were bestowed upon the cosmos in this trip to Europe.
The radiance of the sun appeared to be extraordinarily bright against the dark cloudy sky. When we arrived at Helsinki, we were glad to find Teacher's new article, The Heavens Become Clear Again. All sorts of feeling emerged when I read the article, which fully described my feelings.
"The Heavens shrouded in darkness, the Earth enveloped in gloom
The thunder of the Gods explodes, dispersing the dark, dense haze
And sweeps across the rotten demons who sought to ruin the Fa
Do not say that our mercy is somehow lacking."
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/7/1/16644.html
